As do all the devote Christians at Christmas and Easter wail, gnash their teeth and lament that no one understands the true meaning of Christmas so do I about you bunch of bogans and wetbacks about Australia Day.
So, for your edification and redemption read on..........
The Voyage of the First Fleet.
At 0400 on Sunday 13 May 1787, the signal was given to weigh anchor. Eleven ships of the fleet under Captain Arthur Phillip RN left Portsmouth and set out on an arduous eight-month journey to a virtually unknown shore half a world away. There were 1,300 men and women on board the eleven ships – the colonial ‘settlers’ being 160 marines and 729 convicts, the rest of the 1300 being spouses and children of the marines or sailors destined to return with the ships (*).
By modern standards, the journey from England to New Holland was hell – stinking, terrifying, crowded, with rotting food to eat and stale water to drink. But by eighteenth century standards it was a miracle voyage. In the course of the eight months voyage, only 31 of Phillip’s charges died. Those deaths were from childbirth, or else from illnesses people already had when they came aboard. This was far fewer than would have died if they stayed in prison in England, or even the slums of London. Once the ships left England, there were no major outbreaks of disease.
This miracle was due to Capt Arthur Phillip’s determination and excellent planning.
Despite the tangible benefits of Phillip’s determination and excellent planning the voyage was no pleasure trip for any of the First Fleeters, especially the convicts.
Below decks it was dark: the only light came from the hatch. There were no toilets, just buckets that were emptied (but not washed) once a day. In rough weather the buckets tipped over, and no one could stand (or squat or sit) to use them anyway. The floor was constantly awash with filthy water, dead rats and all the muck that hadn’t made it into the toilet buckets.
There were two rows of sleeping berths, a bit like double bunks. Each one was less than 2 square metres, about the size of a double bed, and three convicts shared each berth. There were no mattresses, no pillows, and just one blanket each. And there was nothing to stop people rolling
off. The quarters were so crowded that some of the convicts had to be on the bunks at all times.
Most days the convicts were allowed up on deck, still chained to prevent them taking over the ship. But when the ship was in port, or in bad weather, the convicts had to stay below. The weather was often bad – and there were never enough buckets for seasickness!
The ships had stayed at Tenerife for one week, Rio De Janeiro for four weeks and at the Cape of Good Hope for 4 weeks. From the 13 Nov 1887 to 20 Jan 1888, 13 weeks, they were in the ‘roaring 40’s’ – Antarctic waters. For these periods the convicts would have been locked ‘below decks’.
The foul holds `stank in the hot weather. The smell from the convicts was so bad that it even made the marines guarding the hatches feel faint.
On January 18th 1788 Supply made it into Botany Bay.
On the 19th The Alexander, Scarborough and Friendship arrived at Botany Bay in the morning. By 7 a.m. on the 20th the other six ships of the First Fleet had arrived at Botany Bay. The whole fleet was at anchor by 10 a. m. They had all(**) made it safely, testimony of Phillip’s good planning, organization and leadership. Indeed, it reflected exceedingly well on the seamanship, skills and leadership of all captains and crews, and on England herself.
No other nation on earth at that time could have financed, organized and executed an expedition of this size over such a distance.
David Collins, (1756-1810), deputy judge advocate and lieutenant-governor of the new colony, caught the magnitude of the achievement the best:
“Thus, under the blessing of God, was happily completed, in eight months and one week, a voyage which, before it was undertaken, the mind hardly dared venture to contemplate, and which it was impossible to reflect without apprehensions as to its termination. ……..In the above space of time we had sailed 5021 leagues; had touched at the American and African continents; and had at last rested within a few days sail of the antipodes of our native country, without meeting any accident in a fleet of eleven sail, nine of which were merchantmen that had never before sailed in that distant and imperfectly explored ocean: and when it is considered, that there was on board a large body of convicts, many of whom were embarked in a very sickly state, we might be deemed peculiarly fortunate, that of the whole number of all descriptions of persons coming to form the new settlement, only thirty-two had died since leaving England, among whom were included one or two deaths by accidents; although previous to our departure it was generally conjectured, that before we have been a month at sea one of the transports would have been converted into a hospital ship.”
But on closer inspection of Botany Bay the lush-looking grass was long and course. The big trees Banks had praised were hollow and twisted and only suitable for firewood. The so-called “rich soil” that Banks described was nothing more than black sand. Even the sheltered harbour they had expected could only be reached by passing over a dangerous sandbar. But there was no turning back.
The new colony needed fresh water, good soil and a safe place for the ships. So on the morning of 21st January Phillip, Captain Hunter and others went in three boats (two cutters and a long boat) to examine a bay to the northward a few leagues. They intended to sail to Broken Bay, but there was another bay which was sighted, but not entered by Captain Cook, which he named Port Jackson, after George Jackson, Judge-Advocate of the Fleet.
Late in the afternoon of the 21st Phillip and his small party sailed into Port Jackson (instead of Broken Bay) and went ashore at present day Camp Cove where they set up camp for the night.
Phillip spent the 22nd exploring Port Jackson eventually choosing Sydney Cove as the place of settlement as it had a good spring of water (this was later called the Tank Stream).
Governor Phillip returned to the Fleet from Port Jackson during the afternoon of the 23rd. At 5 p.m. the Sirius made the signal for all masters of the First Fleet ships to board the Sirius. Orders were given to prepare for going round to Port Jackson the next morning.
On the morning of the 24th, two vessels appeared off-shore from Botany Bay. It was initially assumed that the vessels were two large English ships carrying more convicts and stores or they were Dutch ships coming after the First Fleet to oppose their landing (the Dutch had laid claim to the west coast hence the name New Holland).
The arrival of the two French ships delayed the abandonment of Botany Bay as Phillip wanted to be certain of the identity of the ships before he left.
Phillip sent the brig Supply out of Botany Bay (the wind then blew very strong out of Botany Bay, which prevented the French ships getting into the Bay) to hoist his colours, and see if they could perceive what nations they belonged to; and the Supply returned with a certainty they were not English ships, but either French, Spanish or Portuguese. They later concluded them to be two French ships that had been making discoveries in the South Seas.
On the morning of the 25th Phillip sailed from Botany Bay in the Supply for Port Jackson and the rest of the First Fleet prepared to leave Botany Bay the following day. On the evening of the 25th January 1788 Capt Phillip on board the Supply sailed into Port Jackson. At about 7.00pm the Supply dropped anchor in a bay which Phillip called Sydney Cove in honour of Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney, the British home secretary to whom Governor Phillip reported. No one landed that night.
Early next morning, the 26th January 1788, Phillip and some of his officers and a few convicts went ashore. Phillip ordered that trees be cleared away from the banks of a freshwater stream – the Tank Stream. He also ordered that a flagpole be put up.
As Phillip went ashore at Sydney Cove The Fleet was preparing to sail up the coast and rejoin Phillip at Sydney Cove as ordered.
At 8 o’clock of the 26th a large ship with a Pennant came into sight round Point Solander (northern headland of Botany Bay). At 10 o’clock it was determined that it was two large French ships that had just entered Botany Bay. The Sirius sent out a boat to speak to them. The ships were the Astrolabe and Boussole which had left Port Brest in 1785.
The two French ships entered Botany Bay (***) as the English First Fleet was abandoning the Bay and had commenced sailing to Port Jackson.
The First Fleet had sailed safely across the world but as they headed out of Botany Bay they ran into a fierce head wind and two ships collided. Then a third ship crashed into them. The other ships milled around trying to stay clear of each other, the shore, sand bars and the rocks. Fortunately the damaged ships were still able to sail and the First Fleet finally left the bay, leaving the French behind.
In the afternoon, the officers and marines had been landed at Sydney Cove and the Union Jack flag was hoisted on the shore, and ‘possession was taken for His Majesty the King’. The marines fired several volleys.
A few hours later the remaining ten ships sailed into Port Jackson, their sails full, the sailors and marines crowding the decks to look at the place that would be their new home. What did these first settlers see? A harbour more glorious than any they had known or seen; "one of the finest harbours in the world, in which a thousand sail on the line might ride in the most perfect security." Green forest grew right down to the rock edged shore.
It was beautiful. It was strange. And it was probably far less terrifying than the dangers the newcomers had faced so far.
By 7 o’clock p.m. Phillip and the ships of the First Fleet had all entered Port Jackson, and sailed up to the cove where the settlement was to be made.
The sight of the Port Jackson was described as “having the finest terra’s, lawns and grottos, with distinct plantations of the tallest and most stately trees ever seen in any nobleman’s grounds in England, cannot excel in beauty those which nature now presented to their view. The singing of the various birds amongst the trees, and the fight of numerous parraquets, lorrequets, cockatoos, and macaws, made all round appear like in enchantment; the stupendous rocks from the summit of the hills and down to the very water’s edge hanging over in a most awful manner from above, and forming the most commodious quays by the water. The moulds here are a foot and a half down as rich as any garden in England will afford; there are also many very lofty firs, and here is also the cabbage-tree.
The ships, some of them, lay so near the stone cliffs that you may with ease jump from the ships to shore.”
While the ‘privileged’ of the First Fleet admired the view, out in the harbour most of the convicts were still huddled in the stench and squalor of their holds below decks, cramped, tied, bored and sweating in the heat; locked away in case they took an opportunity to seize a ship and attempt to sail away from the new colony and their convict fate.
*Hard Life at Sea
Does the thought of travelling the world on a damp and creaking vessel, eating meals of insect-ridden, brittle biscuits, with a very good possibility of dying from disease, starvation, thirst, violent conflict, or falling off the topmast in high seas make you want to set sail on an expedition of exploration? Perhaps not. Even in the 18th century, British writer Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) showed scepticism for the sailor’s way of life when he stated: “No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for, being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.... A man in a jail has more room, better food and commonly better company.”
Quarters were cramped and shared by humans, rats, and other vermin. Hygiene was a challenge, especially when most sailors only had a single set of clothing – a good crust of salt and grease was seen as a barrier to the elements. Dangers and hardships abounded, from Arctic ice to scurvy, conflict, and flogging. Grueling physical labour and low pay were expected, and alcohol, prostitutes, and the high cost of replacing worn out clothing from the ship’s stores cleaned out the pockets of many expeditionary members before the ships reached home port. Even captains met their share of troubles in unruly crewmembers, health complaints, and political intrigues that could ruin their careers and reputations.
There was food for the sailors when many at home had none, there was adventure when their brothers lived life behind a plough, and there was the promise of comradeship, revelry in exotic lands, and even a glimmer of hope that trade (unsanctioned for personal gain, of course) might earn them some wealth. They marveled at sights and experiences that most could never even imagine. Daily life on the expedition was part of a greater experience that made weevils in the biscuits a little more bearable.
**The Numbers
Gillen notes that "during the voyage there were 22 births (13 males, 9 females), while 69 people either died, were discharged, or deserted (61 males and 8 females). As no complete crew musters have survived for the six transports and three storeships, there may have been as many as 110 more seamen who have not been identified, thus giving approximately 1530 people who left England and 1483 who reached Sydney Cove.
Note that there is no definitive list of the people who arrived at Botany Bay in the First Fleet. We will probably never know the exact number and their names.
***The French
On the 26th of January 1788, the French expedition under the command of Francois de La Perouse landed on the northern side of Botany Bay, at present day La Perouse.
On the 19th of February three Frenchmen from the two French ships in Botany Bay came overland with fowling pieces, under the pretence of shooting, but it was believed the purpose was to take a view of matters going on in Port Jackson. They had already erected a fort with two or three guns on shore at Broken Bay (? – more probably Botany Bay and more probably a stockade against the natives after earlier suffering bad experiences with natives in Polynesia).
The Governor forbids anyone going to Botany Bay. Two horses were sent over to Botany Bay to conduct the French Commodore and another to Port Jackson.
On the 4th of March several other French officers came from Botany Bay.
On the 10th of March the two French ships of the La Perouse expedition sailed from Botany Bay to the northward - never to be seen again.
The lasting gift of the French was to leave behind disgruntled and hostile natives – they had treated the natives badly, firing on them to keep them away from their camp. Phillip’s hope for, and approach to, the natives had been quite the opposite.
“Thus, after a passage of exactly thirty-six weeks from Portsmouth, we happily effected our arduous undertaking, with such a train of unexampled blessings as hardly ever attended a fleet in a like predicament. Of two hundred and twelve marines we lost only one; and of seven hundred and seventy-five convicts, put on board in England, but twenty-four perished in our route. To what cause are we to attribute this unhoped for success? I wish I could answer to the liberal manner in which Government supplied the expedition. But when the reader is told, that some of the necessary articles allowed to ships on a common passage to West Indies, were withheld from us; that portable soup, wheat, and pickled vegetables were not allowed; and that an inadequate quantity of essence of malt was the only antiscorbutic supplied, his surprise will redouble at the result of the voyage. For it must be remembered, that the people thus sent out were not a ship’s company starting with every advantage of health and good living, which a state of freedom produces; but the major part a miserable set of convicts, emaciated from confinement, and in want of cloaths, and almost every convenience to render so long a passage tolerable. I beg leave, however, to say, that the provisions served on board were good, and of a much superior quality to those usually supplied by contract: they were furnished by Mr. Richards, junior, of Walworth, Surrey.”
Chapter 7 The Expedition to Botany Bay, by Watkin Tench.
